Advancing Worker Ownership: Reclaiming Economic Sovereignty in the 21st Century

Businesses have become more mobile, more complex, and less accountable. Decisions that shape our lives (such as relocations, layoffs and investments) are increasingly made far from the communities they affect the most, while traditional tools of regulation and trade unions struggle to keep up. If we want to protect democracy and economic sovereignty, we must rethink ownership itself.

Democratic worker ownership offers a radical yet practical and time-tested alternative. It anchors wealth, jobs, and decision-making locally, strengthening democracy at work and beyond and giving people a sense of agency over their lives. It reduces inequality not only through redistribution, but by reshaping how value is created and shared in the first place. And as if this wasn't enough, it's even good for business; worker-owned firms consistently prove resilient and competitive.

Today, worker ownership remains marginal virtually everywhere, being held back by institutional bias, financing barriers, and limited awareness. But is that changing? What can we learn from the rise of Employee Ownership Trusts (EOTs) in the UK? And what legislation is emerging in other countries, particularly in Slovenia, Denmark, and Spain?

Join us at Pelican House on 13 March at 6:00 pm for an evening dedicated to exploring these questions.

The event begins with a screening of Can We Do It Ourselves? (2018) by Patrik Witkowsky.
The screening will be followed by a panel discussion featuring, among others:

• Aleksandra Kanjuo-Mrčela, President of the Expert Committee on Economic Democracy and Professor of Economic Sociology and Sociology of Work at the University of Ljubljana
• Benjamin Braun, Assistant professor in political economy at the London School of Economics and Political Science
• Christian Damholt, Political Adviser at the Danish Trade Union Confederation

The discussion will be moderated by Kosta Juri, Director of Operations at the Institute for Economic Democracy.

The Institute for Economic Democracy is a Slovenian-based non-profit organisation promoting employee ownership and participatory ownership culture. Our activities focus primarily on research and policy proposal development, ownership restructuring, the creation and implementation of training and development programs for key stakeholders, as well as awareness-raising and advocacy services for employee-owned companies. By introducing innovative models of employee ownership and participatory governance, we foster social justice, economic efficiency, social and environmental sustainability, worker dignity, and community-rooted business ownership.

This event is financially supported by the Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung London Office.